Bridges and Barriers

Been thinking lately about how hard it can be to stay connected to the people in your life, how it should be so much easier in this electronic age. Really, though, all the electronic "bridges" like Facebook, texting, blogging, Twitter, etc, are becoming barriers... we don't call each other any more, don't hear the sound of a human voice, can't see each other's faces. We like to believe we're still in touch, but our relationships become more shallow the longer we IM or txt or blog. In-depth conversations are becoming a thing of the past. I can have the same level of communication with a family member as I do with someone I knew in junior high... and sometimes, I like it that way!
On the other hand, without this technology, I wouldn't be able to share pictures of my little ones with their grand-parents, at least, not as immediately. I wouldn't have been able to re-connect with friends I had lost track of and missed. And it is fun to be able to just log in and see what so-and-so is doing Right Now! Shallow? Yes. Worth it? You betcha!
What got me thinking about all this?
I was poking around in Facebook, and out of nowhere, found the profile of my brother's little girl, Megan. I haven't seen her since she was an infant, many years ago. Through some crazy melodramatic saga between my brother and his ex-wife, Megan ended up in another country, seperated from her father's family more concretely than any political barrier could do. I was excited to see her on Facebook, but realized that since she is still a child, I should contact her mother before initiating anything else. After all, I would appreciate the same respect if it were me and my daughter. Well, it looks like any bridge I may try to build with my niece is going to be blocked by her mother... at least until Megan is old enough to find her family on her own.
And, so - bridges and barriers.

Hey - where's my template?

So, I abandon my blog for a little while... well, ok, a long while... and all my background images disappear! Upon further investigation, I discover that FileDen, where I had stored all my images, had a major server melt-down, and lost all the stored files of account owners who had signed up in 2006. Guess when I joined up? Argh!! Now I have to re-do my blog, and find a new image storage place. Just so I can abandon my blog again... hehehe Oh, and I probably have to try and repair the Couch Potato blog too... when I get a chance. Maybe it's time for a change anyway.

Along the same lines, why have I abandoned my blog, I wonder. Probably because I am much too busy wallowing in a sea of apathy. By the time I manage the absolute necessities of survival (feed kids, change diapers, play Cafe World on FaceBook), I am just to blah to do anything else. If I do get some kind of spark to do something, I tend to make it a bath - anything other than that is too demanding. While I lay around waiting for some ambition to come back, the most I want to do is press one index finger on to my laptop key. Just enough to cook some virtual food for my virtual customers in Cafe World. Blah.

I have been exploring some things online, just for the heck of it, like Twitter, Skype, and live cam streaming. Thankfully, I do still like learning new things :) I have also been reading, reading, reading about autism and therapies and theories. It's a little overwhelming - so many differing opinions, treatments, and political stances. So weird - you don't often hear political arguments about things like juvenile diabetes or heart disease or Down Syndrome, but when it comes to Autism, wow! Very vocal, angry opposites. Yep, I'm learning a lot.

Anyway, I think I've tired myself out enough for now... maybe I'll look around for a new blog template. :)